I hate summer homework. Oliver Twist…nuff said.

Chapter 10

It had been about 72 hours since Kathy had first received word of her brother's accident. It had also been 72 hours since the last time she had slept. Kathy kept telling herself that she had to be the first one Daniel saw when he awoke, but this wasn't the reason she couldn't sleep; her body wouldn't let her sleep no matter how hard she tried. She assumed it was because she always felt so on edge; always waiting for Daniel to open his eyes, always waiting for the slightest movement of the fingers or fluttering of the eyes. She just wanted to see something, something that would show her that there was someone inside of the living corpse she once knew as her brother.

Seeing him, seeing him like that, made her heart ache, for she could feel the many years of guilt that had accumulated within herself. She had chosen herself over her loved ones; she had left. Despite the fact that she knew Daniel was lonely and reaching out for her father, she left. She could hear the pain in his voice when they conversed, she knew of his struggles, yet she ignored them and pushed her feelings before Daniel's. Seeing him like that, seeing her strong brother look so weak, it brought on the full impact of her mistake.

Kathy desperately wanted some company, but received none, well almost none. Lizbeth had been away at the time of the accident, and thus was not able to visit Kathy or Daniel, but she was to return that afternoon. As for Dina, well, Kathy didn't know. It made Kathy sort of lonely being in the hospital with no one she could talk to. Her father had to constantly work, so he had hired bodyguards to watch over Kathy, but they would switch every few hours with new ones; moreover, they kind of freaked her out because it was like she had two Arnold Schwarzenegger's with her at all times. The only ones who had really visited were the Wayne brothers, but that had already been over a day ago.

It was quite entertaining when the three boys came into the hospital room. Nurses were swooning, jealous men scoffing; it was quite a sight to see.

"Hello!" greeted the eldest brother, Dick. Kathy had met him many years ago, but it had been a much darker time for her, so she didn't remember him immediately. Luckily, he was very friendly and outgoing; as a result, she was able to converse with him easily.

The youngest one, Damien, was quite a refreshing presence. On the surface he seemed a little rough. He would make a few smart comments here and there and be scolded by his bothers; however, whenever Tim said anything to Damien, the two would begin to bicker in a manner that border lined sibling rivalry and war. Dick, on the other hand would gently talk to Damien, but the boy would react by feigning annoyance; however he would immediately soften his expression as soon as his brother looked away. Once, just once, Damien caught Kathy looking at him; he suddenly turned a light shade of pink and turned his head away from her with a frown. Kathy could only smile at the boy because to some extent, he reminded her of herself, Daniel, and even Dina.

At one time or another, all of them put on tough and independent façades when in truth they all craved the attention of one person or another; maybe it was the same for Damien. Kathy figured that he wanted the attention of his ever busy father, just as she and Daniel had, but then again, maybe she was wrong.

Kathy found that Tim was the calmest and most collected out of his brothers, but he also seemed very sweet and intelligent. She found it funny how there was an actual boy, not one that came out of a story or movie, that was not only handsome, but also smart and kind. Then again, all three of the brothers had distinct personalities that were endearing in their own ways.

There was no doubt in Kathy's mind that these brothers were unusually good looking, but it made her feel a little uncomfortable. She looked like a bum, so being in a room with such handsome men made her feel like she was a hobo, standing next to some kind of prince, or something of that sort. She may have not cared for that sort of thing, meaning outward appearances, a few years ago, but she was still a girl after all. Furthermore, after spending so many years in an all-girls school, this experience was a little awkward for her.

"You look a little tired," said Tim, trying to start some sort of conversation.

"Hmm?" Kathy looked at Tim and tried to process what he had said. "Oh! Yeah, I'm sorry I'm a little out of it."

"A little?" mumbled Damien, but Tim instantly shot the kid a dirty look to which Dick sighed and Kathy laughed, but not a laugh like "ha ha" more like...an explosion of laughter that nearly brought her to tears. The boys all looked from her to one another.

"Yup, she's crazy," Damien said which resulted in Tim telling the boy to shut up.

Kathy looked at the brothers and between her laughs asked, "Are all brothers like this?"

Dick, in understanding of Kathy's amusement, replied, "I doubt it. There aren't as many families as dysfunctional as ours."

Kathy's eyes saddened, which Tim noticed right away. 'Smooth Dick. Real smooth,' he thought, but Dick, too, noticed Kathy's change in emotion and tried to change the subject.

"So…uhh… this place is pretty dreary huh?"

Kathy looked at Dick and sighed. "Very."

"What do you do when you're bored?"

Kathy looked at her brother. "I read to Daniel. Yell at him for being dumb. The things a little sister would do."

"He probably can't even hear you," said Damien, but this time Dick gave him a stern look in place of Tim, which made the boy look a little guilty. "I mean, uhh, you know…he's asleep."

Kathy looked at Daniel and then at Damien, "Yeah…but I'd like to think that he can. You know, maybe he can't hear the exact words, but maybe he can hear the murmur of my voice. Hearing me read to him would be better than hearing noting at all." Kathy sighed, "It does get a little lonely though."

Tim wondered who she was referring to when she said that it got lonely.

"Hey!" Kathy suddenly exclaimed while looking at Damien, which made the boy's shoulders jump from the sudden change in mood. "How do you feel about video games?"

"What?" he asked while Kathy rummaged through her purse.

"Ah ha!" she exclaimed wiping out a Nintendo DS. "How'd you like to have a virtual dog? Maybe a cat?"

"How foolish. Those things are for children."

Tim scoffed. "You seem pretty into them at home."

Damien shot him a threatening glare. "Yeah bloody, violent games. Not dumb girl games with imaginary pets."

"Hmmm, really? Have you tried it?" She motioned for Damien to come over to her side of the bed, but the boy looked reluctant at first.

Kathy giggled. "Scared?"

Damien furrowed his brows, how dare this woman say that he would be scared of something as miniscule as a virtual game; he's taken on the most deadly assassins in the world. A game was nothing. He hurriedly stomped over to Kathy and looked at her DS screen, which had two pets, a cat and dog, roaming around back and forth.

"This is my cat, Jeeves, and my dog, Augustine." Damien raised a brow. "Jeeves and Augustine?"

"A mouthful huh?" Kathy clicked on the cat and showed Damien how to wash and play with it, so despite his initial reluctance to play the "girl game", Damien's interests had become sparked.

"Here," she said as she handed him the game. "You looked a little bored. Why don't you help me take care of my pets?"

Damien, however, would not take the game from Kathy so she took his hand with her own and placed the DS in his palm. "I know you want to play. No one can resist the charms of Jeeves." Damien looked at the games and awkwardly sat next to her and began to tap the screen of device. Kathy merely smiled and turned her head to the other two boys.

"Thirsty?" both shook their heads. Kathy turned to Damien, "You?"

Damien just kept on playing, which made Kathy smile. "Oh yeah! I have this one too." She said as she delved into her purse again.

Kathy handed Damien a small cartridge with an animated version of Batman and Robin. Damien's eyes grew wide. "Is that Batman?" he asked, which immediately made the other two brothers' interested.

"You a fan?" she asked to which Damien mumbled, "Sort of…"

"It's called Robin the Boy Wonder. Batman gets trapped by the Joker and Robin has to find him before the time runs out, or else, boom."

"The joker traps batman?" Damien smirked because that'd never happen in real life.

"Mmhmm, but you don't see him until the last level. In the game Harley Quinn and a bunch of henchmen try to stop you from finding Batman. You really start to hate Harley because the girl is everywhere." Damien slid the game into the device and saw a bunch of Robins pop up.

"Why are there so many? Aren't' they the same?"

"Nope. Red pants is smart and can hack into buildings and stuff the fastest. Green pants is good with his gadgets." Kathy smiled, "No pants is good at jumping around and kicking butt." This time all three of the brothers looked amused. "If you beat Harley 10 times you get the black pants robin, who pretty much kills everything for about 15 seconds."

"That's it?" Kathy nodded.

"He's strong so you only get him for a few seconds." Tim watched as the corners of Damien's mouth lifted up. 'He's getting his ego blown up,' he thought.

"Which one so you usually pick?" asked Damien.

"Me? Oh, the one in the red pants." Tim now felt his own ego growing.

"WHAT! How about the one with the scaly underwear?" asked Dick, rather enthusiastically.

"Speedos are not my thing, besides, the red outfit looks nicer," Tim noticed Dick pout slightly

Kathy looked down at the game screen. "Oh! I guess you have a thing for a guy with no pants," she said chuckling. Dick's put faded away and formed into a slight smile.

"ARG!" screamed Damien.

"Harley?"

"Why is her hammer so damn big? I'm going to bash her head in with that thing!"

After a few more minutes of chatting, the three brothers eventually decided to go, but Damien asked to stay a little longer.

"What level are you on?"

"Ten." Damien begrudgingly handed her the DS, but Kathy handed it back.

"You know, I'm never able to beat the Harley at level 20, her hammer is the size of the screen…since you're so good maybe you can kick his butt for me. When you do that, you can come visit me again so I won't be so alone."

Damien looked up at her. "Okay, but only because I want to smash Harley."

Kathy laughed remembering the young boy, but she was surprised to see him standing at the door.

"Harley died an excruciatingly painful death," he declared. "One brought on by her own weapon."

I'm sorry if any characterization is off, but feel free to correct me on it (esp. Damien and Stephanie). I hope you guys like the story so far ;) I'm oober happy I was finally able to bring Tim in. hehe